


The Path Not Taken

by danceswithhamsters01



Series: Reddit Prompts [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Death of a Young Character, Gen, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 11:05:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16217729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithhamsters01/pseuds/danceswithhamsters01
Summary: Based on a prompt from r/dragonage.An alternate version of the events that went down in Redcliffe Castle.





	The Path Not Taken

_**Prompt 1:** The path not taken. Write an Alternate Universe version of events, where your OC went one way in a quest, but in this version, had made an entirely different choice?_

 

"Make up your mind. Do you want to save the child or not?" the mage Warden glared up at her taller companion.

 

"Yes. But isn't there any other way?" the Warden in heavy plate armor sighed.

 

"There could have been. If--" she glared icy daggers at him, memories of her dead master's warped form still fresh in her mind. "Nevermind that. There's no Circle left to get help from. It's either Jowan's idea or putting the child out of his misery."

 

Alistair's eyes filled with despair. Either way, a member of the Arl's family would die. He thought he owed Eamon better than that.

 

"Well? You were so gung-ho in Kinloch. What's stopping you now, boss man? What's your call?" the mage hissed, arms folded beneath her breasts. She'd become colder toward him than even Morrigan. He'd tried to convince her that the aid of Templars would be just as valuable as the magi would have been. Perhaps someone who hadn't been a Circle mage would've been more agreeable with that argument.

 

Connor was stirring, the sleep spell upon him would not last much longer. Isolde stroked a stray bit of hair from his face, holding back tears. Bann Teagan looked on from behind his sister-in-law, his face a mix of worry and dread. The boy had taken the form of a desire demon not even an hour before, and had to be fought to force him to revert.

 

"Alistair, please. Let me do this. I brought this upon us. Let my blood be spent to save Connor," the arlessa said.

 

_Not so easy when it's people YOU care about, is it, you son of a bitch?_ Sevarra thought.

 

She'd been powerless to stop him in Kinloch, as he was the senior officer and she merely the newest recruit. He'd agreed with the sentiment that any survivors in the Circle tower were likely too far gone to save. She'd begged and pleaded for the mages' lives, to no avail. Perhaps the arguing had wasted too much precious time, as the First Enchanter's body had been twisted and changed against his will by the time they had reached the Harrowing chamber. With no uncorrupted First Enchanter, the rest of the survivors had been doomed.

 

"If you want there to be anyone or anything left of this castle and the nearby village, you need to make a choice, and quickly. Demons are not known for their regard for life," the mage said flatly. "Sending me into the Fade is an option, I remind you. I've fought demons before."

 

Alistair sighed heavily and drew his blade. Child or no, Connor was a very dangerous abomination.

 

"You saw what blood magic did to the Circle. I won't risk it here," he said.

 

"No! This... this is my fault. I should be the one to set him free," Isolde said.

 

Jowan wore an expression of deep sorrow and offered Isolde the dagger he'd had ready for the ritual. The arlessa snarled at him.

 

Sevarra couldn't hold her tongue. "You hired him. You brought him here. All this happened because you were ashamed of the child having magic. Was the Circle truly so awful that all of this was better?"

 

A heavily gloved hand on her shoulder informed the mage that perhaps venting her spleen at the anguished mother needed to cease. She glared at her commander but shut her mouth.

 

"M-mother? It hurts..." the young boy whimpered as he awoke.

 

"Shh, baby. Close your eyes for mother," Isolde sobbed. "It'll be over soon." She held the ritual blade aloft.

 

Sevarra closed her eyes and looked away but heard the blade strike flesh. The anguished woman's sobbing would haunt her dreams for years to come.


End file.
